The Deatheater of the Dungeons

CHAPTER 7

He had been miserable for a while. He was being selfish. He didn't expect her to love him, in fact, he was sure that she wouldn't. Then why did he care so much?

Maybe it was because he had loved her and for a while it seemed as if she loved him. Then she said that she loved some one else. Some one she dreamed about. Of course. Women are always disappointed when the man of their dreams turns out to be just that. A dream.

Severus Snape snorted and looked down at himself. He was tall, dark, and not at all handsome. Wearing all black, having dark hair, and being a little on the thin side made him look somewhat like a cross between a vampire and a dementor. He sighed. Definitely NOT the prince charming type.

And then there was that scar across his face. He sighed. He had a lot more of those on his chest and back. No wonder she- He paused. She'd never seen him. Well she'd certainly seen that prince charming guy.

He gave a small sort of laugh at himself. In HIS fairy tale, the prince charming would come to rescue Hermione from the evil deatheater, all to be told that there must have been some sort of mistake and that Hermione was perfectly happy where she was.

Of course, princes don't like to be made fools of, so he would challenge Severus to a duel and Severus would tell him to go home and find the directions to some other princess's castle who hadn't fallen in love and lived happily ever after yet. That is, if Hermione hadn't secretly been dreaming about the prince.

He scowled at himself. Well, the only solution to THAT is killing the prince.

Hermione was gloomy. He hadn't come in a couple of days. Was he mad at her? Most likely. She was still not knowing what to do about her dreams. First of all, she could never see the man of her dreams. He was dead. Secondly, she had chased away the man who really WAS alive because of it.

There was a knock on the door to her chambers. "Yes?" She said wearily.

He opened the door noislessly and shut it once he was inside. "Hermione?"

Her head snapped up and she blushed shamefully. "Come sit down."

He sat. "I'm really sorry..."

"It is my fault, I should not have...I apologize."

Something was annoying Hermione very much- it had been for a long time. It was like an important event that you had to remember, but couldn't quite dig it out from all the other bits of information buried in your brain (Hermione had MANY things accumulated there). This one had been very important.

Then again, she thought, it might not even be an event. Maybe a word. Yes, of course. A very important word.

That word was a noun.

That noun was a proper noun.

It was a name.

"I've gotten to know you well over the past couple of months." Hermione said. "Very well, in fact." She swallowed. "But really, I...That is to say...umm...It would be much safer if I could know your name."

"No."

"What?"

"Sorry, afraid not."

"And why not!"

"No."

"And what does that mean?"

"Can't tell you that either."

"Oh! You're so damn frustrating!" She scowled into the fireplace.

It was a nice place to scowl at, with all those flames jumping about so happily. It made you just want to throw a nice and dreadfully cold bucket of water on them.

"Of course."

There was a long silence and they looked at each other long and hard. That is to say, he looked at her and she glared into the fire some more, but it were as if they were staring face to face, Hermione being the angry one.

"Who was he?"

She glanced up from the embers. "Who?"

"Whoever it was that you were dreaming about."

"Oh." She snorted in a sort of half laugh and turned her eyes away from the fire, nearer to his voice. "Actually, I still am. Dreaming about him, that is."

His anger grew. "Who?"

"Want to know out of curiosity? Ha. That's a nice laugh." She shifted and gazed back into the fire. "You really want to just hunt him down and get rid of him, right?" She gave a little half hearted sort of sigh. "Too late for that though. He's already gone."

"Gone?"

"Yup. Gone and dead. Dead and gone. There's no coming back." She sighed again and pulled a puzzled expression. "That's why it's so strange, of course. I haven't been trying to think about him, yet the dreams keep appearing." She paused, thinking. "And in them, he looks different. Different than the last time I saw him. Not what you'd expect a dream to be like." She blushed. "Or at least, not the kind that I would have."

"Oh, then it must have been something dreadful!" He snarled. "Or dreadfully erotic. I don't know why women always have those sort of dreams."

"But I don't!"

"Then it was erotic?"

Hermione's face turned the color of Gryffindor. "Oh, you are a bother! You're just trying to tease me!"

"I suppose it is my fault, I have gotten completely off topic. What I really wanted to know was which deceased being those dreams- erotic or not- were about."

"Fine." She submitted. "I guess it won't do any harm, seeing as he's already dead- which puts me in this position, you know. If he hadn't died, I wouldn't be at Hogwarts now and-"

"God damnit woman! Stop your blabbering and tell me who he is!"

"Snape. Severus Snape. Now go away and leave me alone, you're terrible to talk to when you're this way."

He couldn't believe his ears. "WHAT!"

"Weren't you listening? Snape! You know, he used to-"

And her jaw dropped open, for she had just seen a man suddenly appear in front of her. A man with a puzzled, longing expression in his eyes.

The man called Severus Snape.

cdkobasiuk-- Well, I'm trying, I'm trying. I am writing two stories, you know.

MoD-- I live for cruel cliff hangers

Varcolaci-- Bet you hate me more now for giving you another cliffie.

sallene-- I would think there would be more anguish for you, as the one who has to wait through all these cliff hangers in a row.

Alaksandra-- ha ha. YOU would like that surprise, wouldn't you?

Dafhine-- Who would you have to kill to get your own invisable Snape? Hermione and J.K. Rowling and anyone else who gets in your way.

herovillian-- Well, I bet you like this cliffie (wow I've used that word a lot) even better.

elektrikstorm-- Oh Oh Oh! No need to worry, I'm fine. It's the computer that wasn't fine. It's had so many viruses. :( I was really happy when it was diagnosed and we were told that it was only a case of bad cd-rom digestion.

Fiona McKinnon-- Thank you for reviewing and all that jazz. Really did appreciate it.

sexy she-devil-- thank you. By the way, you remind me of a friend. She would have that same screen name and she spells terribly (just like you). That doesn't mean I don't like either of you. It just means it's an extraordinary coincidence...hmmmm...

animedorkette-- you bet being a nerd is fun. If it were something boring then I wouldn't have admitted to being one.

Severus-Fan-- Here's your update.

By the way everyone, I still have a life, whether it seems like it or not, and I will not be near any computer for the first week of July. Then I will have a week. And then I am going on a road trip and will not return until sometime in August. I will try to get in one or two chapters for the two weeks that I will actually be at home. Hope you can forgive me for not being here then. I solemnly swear to make those chapters looooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggg.