I'm so proud of myself! Two chapter in one day. I haven't done that in a while. Hope you like it.

The Trip To Hogsmead

Hermione looked around nervously as the group entered Hogsmead. She half-expected to get ambushed by Death Eaters as they walked down the road. She forced herself to keep her hands at her side. She didn't want to give away the fact that she was afraid.

Snape cast a side-long glance at his anxious young apprentice. He noticed that she was chewing on her lip and her hands were clenched firmly at her sides. "Relax Miss Granger," he said in a rich, velvety tone. "We must act natural. We'll act as if we are running errands and our last stop is the apothecary. The Order is following us every where we go. If the Dark Lord's followers corner us early, the Order will be there to keep you safe. You mustn't give any clue that you knew anything ahead of time."

Hermione nodded silently, willing her face to look a bit more calm. Snape smirked at her rather poor attempt to appear relaxed. "Perhaps we can find something that will help," he said causing her to look at him curiously. He didn't comment any further, but led her down the street into a familiar shop.

He had led her into a book store. Hermione smiled and hurried over to a shelf to look through the books. "So easily pleased," Snape thought with a smirk when he noted her happy expression. Snape looked around wondering if the Order members had managed to stay nearby. He was slightly surprised to see a book in the middle of one shelf in front of him slide out of place and then slip back between the other books. Snape knew that one of the Order members, hidden by a disillusionment charm, had simply pulled the book out when he looked that direction.

After several minutes, Snape led Hermione back out of the store. She looked considerably more content than before. Snape nodded in satisfaction and led the way into several shops. Finally, Snape drew in a long breath and ushered Hermione into the apothecary. Hermione's body stiffened and she walked hesitantly. She smiled slightly when an unseen hand tugged gently on a lock of her hair. She knew it was Harry attempting to reassure her.

Snape made a show of examining various ingredients for potions, while covertly keeping an eye on Hermione. A familiar popping sound made Hermione jump and Snape whirled around. Several Death Eaters in masks were now standing in the apothecary. Hermione's heart pounded against her chest and her stomach felt like it was full of lead.

"Wonderful to see you little mudblood," one of the masked men hissed. He raised his wand and opened his mouth but before he could make another sound a spell hit him in the chest, knocking him to the floor.

The other Death Eaters looked around, startled. To their surprise, the members of the Order revealed themselves and began firing spells. Hermione watched as spells were sent from many directions. She raised her wand and said "Petrificus totalus," instantly freezing a Death Eater that was closing in on Harry. In response, three Death Eaters turned and threw stunners at her. Snape watched in horror as she collapsed, hitting her head on the floor with a loud thump, and remained motionless on the floor.

"Hermione!" Harry cried out. He began fighting more fiercely than ever.

Snape rushed to Hermione's side, dodging spells as he went. He knelt next to her and made sure no wayward spell came near her. When he was sure no one was watching him, he waved his wand silently, effectively throwing one of the Death Eaters into a wall. He looked back down at Hermione. She was so still and pale. Minerva had been hit by several stunners at once two years ago, and she had survived. He only hoped Hermione's body was strong enough to keep her alive.

After several minutes, the Order had captured each of the Death Eaters. Dumbledore looked around quickly to make sure everyone was alright. Tonks had a bloody nose and Harry was clutching his right shoulder with a grim expression. Everyone else looked exhausted and a bit bruised, but otherwise unharmed. Only Hermione lay motionless on the floor.

"How is she?" Harry asked quickly, before Dumbledore had the chance to. He tried not to notice that Snape had picked her up and was cradling her body against his chest.

"We must get her back to Hogwarts," Snape said stiffly. "She needs treatment immediately. Then I must report to the Dark Lord to cover my tracks."

Dumbledore nodded. "Harry, Severus and I will take Hermione back to the school," he said moving toward the door. "The rest of you, kindly help repair the damage to the apothecary and wait for the ministry to come and remove these," he said gesturing to the unconscious Death Eaters that had been piled up in the middle of the room. He strode swiftly from the store and led the way back to Hogwarts.

Once they were safe inside the school, Dumbledore led the way through the hallways. "Professor Dumbledore," Harry said in confusion. "Where are we going? The hospital wing is the other direction."

"We don't want the other students to know what has happened," Dumbledore replied quietly. "I think it would be best to allow Miss Granger to heal at another location."

Harry nodded, suspecting that he knew exactly where they were going. Confirming Harry's suspicions, Dumbledore led them to Snape's private rooms. Stepping through the door, Snape carried Hermione to his bedroom and put her on the bed. Dumbledore took out his wand and muttered "Ennervate." Hermione didn't move. "It was worth a try," he said ruefully. "Well, we'll just have to do this the hard way. She'll be fine in no time," he added with an encouraging smile at Harry.

Snape handed them a vial of greenish liquid. "Give this to her," he said hastily. "I must go, but I should return fairly soon." Without waiting for them to reply, he turned on his heal and left.

Two hours later, Snape came back in to find Potter sitting in a chair with his head leaned back against the wall. He had obviously fallen asleep while he was watching over Hermione. Minerva McGonagall was sitting nearby looking anxiously at the unconscious head girl. "Severus," she said when she noticed him. "You're back."

"Obviously," he replied smoothly with a smirk. "The Dark Lord was not happy with my report. I convinced him that Albus was apparently concerned about Miss Granger and I going to Hogsmead and sent some people to guard us without my knowledge. I also said that Potter was highly suspicious about Miss Granger accompanying me to the apothecary. He seemed to believe me."

McGonagall sighed in relief and then looked back over at Hermione. "She hasn't really improved any," she said quietly.

"She also hit her head in addition to the stunning spells," Snape informed her. "Give her some time."

Dumbledore entered the room moments later and Snape explained his meeting with Voldemort. Dumbledore nodded and then said "Very well. It seems your position as spy is safe for now. However, I don't think this will be the end of his attempts to get Miss Granger." He looked over at Hermione for a moment and then back at Snape. "Take care of her," he said before leaving the room with McGongall.

Momentarily, Harry woke up and jumped slightly when he saw Snape. "I guess I'll go now," he said anxiously. He looked hesitantly at the surly professor for a second before he said "Sir? Do you think I could visit her later? And Ginny and Ron?"

Snape regarded him thoughtfully for a moment. He wanted to say no, but he decided that allowing Potter and the Weasley girl to visit would probably please Hermione once she was feeling better. "After dinner, if she is awake by then, you may come to see her," he said with a sneer. "Be sure not to speak of it in front of anyone." Harry nodded and hurried out of the room.

Snape closed the door behind Harry, feeling quite irritated that he would have to endure Potter being in his room once again. Grimacing at the idea, he went back over to his bed to look at Hermione. She looked so peaceful. Hesitantly, he reached out and touched her hair. It was so soft that he was almost tempted to bury his face in it. His fingertips brushed against her face tentatively. He jerked his hand away in shock when her eyes fluttered open.

"What happened?" she asked in confusion. Her eyes were wide with fear as they darted around as if she thought one of the Dark Lord's followers was lurking in the shadows.

"You were hit by a few stunners," Snape said briskly. "You fell and hit your head pretty hard. We brought you back here to prevent the other students from asking questions about what happened to you."

"I see," Hermione said groaning as she turned her head slightly to see Professor Snape better. "My goodness, I'm sore."

Wordlessly, Snape uncorked a vial of some green liquid and carefully helped her drink it. The relief came quickly and Hermione sighed. "Thank you," she said.

Feeling awkward, Snape moved to the side table and brought over a small stack of photographs. Hermione hesitated before taking the photos from him. Looking down, she recognized herself in her beautiful dress robes. "The pictures from the ball," Hermione said quietly with a small smile. She looked through the pictures until she got to the photo of herself dancing with Snape. She flushed as she gazed at the image of her twirling about happily with her professor. Occassionally, the dancing couple would stop and Hermione would wave while Snape merely scowled at the interuption. Hermione set the pictures in her lap and looked up at Snape with a shy smile. "They turned out well," she said.

"You had doubts?" Snape asked raising an eyebrow at her, causing Hermione to giggle a little. He offered a small reluctant smile. "For now, you must rest. Your friends wish to come visit you after dinner. If you want to see them, I suggest you get some sleep beforehand."

Hermione nodded and snuggled down in the blankets. Snape quietly left the room to let her sleep and went to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Why didn't I get to go?" Ron demanded indignantly, when he sat down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table.

"We couldn't have a bunch of students going," Harry said reasonably. "I got special permission from Dumbledore at the last minute."

"I didn't get to go either," Ginny added, getting quite irritated by Ron's pouting.

Ron continued to grumble, but seemed to relax enough to enjoy his dinner. After a while, Harry caught sight of Snape passing the Gryffindor table. Harry gave the professor a questioning look and was pleased when Snape gave him a slight nod. "We can go see Hermione," Harry whispered to Ginny and Ron.

"Let's go then," Ron said getting up quickly.

Harry led the way down to Snape's rooms and was surprised to see Snape waiting at the door for them. Snape opened the door and sneered as the three Gryffindors followed him into his private rooms. He ushered them into the bedroom and whispered harshly "Keep quiet. Don't get her overly excited or upset."

"Yes sir," the three said in unison.

Hermione looked up when they walked in. "Hello," she said with a smile.

"I'm so glad you're ok," Ginny said giving Hermione a hug. "We were so worried."

Harry and Ron sat on the bed next to Hermione and gave her big smiles. "So, glad you didn't snuff it Hermione," Ron said with a cheeky grin. "Who else would keep us from failing all of our NEWTs?" Ginny and Hermione rolled their eyes.

"Hey, what are these Hermione?" Harry asked pointing to something laying on the bed.

Hermione looked down to see that the pictures were still sitting next to her on the bed. The picture of herself and Professor Snape was on the top. Ron picked them up curiously and his mouth sagged open slightly. The eyes that met Hermione's looked angry and hurt.

Humanity74: I can't believe you threatened me with a spork! I would never harm Snape. My goodness. What a suggestion! What kind of Snape fan would I be? lol

Severus-Fan: Soon enough for you?

Dancing Pickle: I cracked up laughing when I saw your pen name. It's so cute. You thought it said Santa's Assassin? lol That would be funny. I'm flattered that you like my work so much. It means a lot to me.

Morena-Forever: I can't answer that... Sorry, but you'll find out very soon. I promise.

SlytherinsDarkAngel07: Thanks for the cookie.

MigratingCoconuts06: Thanks. I felt it was necessary too. That's why I wrote it. I wouldn't waste my time with a completely pointless chapter. And if I ever do, well then, I should just retire. lol

CapnSilver: And another cliff-hanger. Sorry. I couldn't resist. And, Hermione is staying with Snape. lol Now, if we can just get her friends out of the room. lol