a/n - There is a lot of angry language in this chapter. No offence to anyone. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Hermione had been lost in the scent of Snape's jacket and the warmth it provided when she saw the red light out of the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she grabbed Snape and pulled him to the ground. She could feel the hot rush of air as the Stupefy spell whizzed just over their heads.

"Are you alright?" she asked him urgently.

"Yes," he whispered, trying to catch his breath, "and you?"

"I'm fine. It came from the alley," she said. "Can you stand?"

Snape had yet to answer when she heard the sadistic laugh of Lucius Malfoy just yards away.

> > > > > > > > > >

The years had not dulled Snape's fight instinct in the least. He instantly repressed the pain and rose to his feet, pointing his wand in the direction of that unsavory laugh.

Lucius Malfoy stood only a few yards off in the murkiness of the alleyway. Without taking his eyes from him, Snape held his other hand out to Hermione to pull her to her feet. He nodded ever so faintly to tell her it was all right. She took his hand and, ignoring the torturous pain, he pulled her swiftly to her feet. He heard her kick off her heels, preparing for a fight just as he was.

Lucius stepped out from a shadow revealing his emaciated form. His hair was filthy and disheveled and Snape could see from his maniacal smile that his previously pristine teeth were now yellow and broken.

"Lucius, what brings you to the windy city on such a glorious night?" Snape asked, his voice loud and intimidating.

Lucius cackled before drawling maliciously, "I cannot believe I caught you out on a date, with that whoring little mudblood, no less. What would your dear old mum say, Severus?"

"You should watch your mouth Lucius. It really is in such a state as it is, I would hate to have to make it look any worse," Snape ground out ominously.

Lucius repeated that awful laugh. "Standing up for your wretched girlfriend are you Severus? Is she still that good of a fuck that you care whether she lives or dies?"

"What are you whining about Lucius? The Dementors must not be as nice as they used to be. If sounds like you have taken a few blows to the head."

Again, with that piercing cackle. "I saw you at the Ministry. I saw you carry her lifeless body out and Apparate with her. While you were weeping at her side as she lay in what should have been her deathbed, I was the one who poisoned you. I was the one that took away your ability to fuck the vulgar little maggot."

Snape struggled to keep his voice steady. "I have no idea what you are rambling about. Obviously, your mind matches your appearance in more ways than just being weak and laughable."

Lucius did not cackle this time--he looked a bit confused. "The scotch you loved so much, you fool. I was the one that has forced you to keep your grimy hands to yourself for the last forever. God knows it serves you right for screwing that ugly thing. I heard what you said to her, your mudblood lover."

Snape prepared himself for what was about to hit him. He put his hand out to Hermione's cheek and he could feel the hot tears that were resting there before the pain overtook his sense of touch. It took every bit of resolve he had, but he kept his body steady and managed not to throw up from the pain.

He removed his hand, relishing the steel cold of adrenaline that was beginning to flow before saying dangerously, "What was that Lucius? Looks like your brilliant plan failed, just like every plan you ever participated in. Possibly, if you had not been so incompetent, your beloved Dark Lord would still be there to kiss your wounds and make you feel like the man you always wished you were. Do not forget that you are a feeble wizard Lucius. You always have been so dreadfully obtuse!" Snape was shouting in rage. "One of the most powerful witches in the world stands before you right now and I beg you--oh how I beseech you--to hurl one more insult her way so I can step aside and give her my blessing to rip you limb from limb."

Lucius looked to be considering this until a voice from behind caught his attention. Draco Malfoy emerged from the alley looking even worse than his father had. Hair matted on both sides of his head, he looked like he hadn't slept in years. Dark circles beneath his eyes, blacker than his rotting teeth, made him look skeletal.

His voice steeped in rage, Draco spat, "Father, are you going to let that mudblood-fucking scab tell you what to do?"

"Draco, stay where you are," Snape warned.

"NO!" Draco screamed. "I will not be ordered around by a dirty parasite that gets his jollies off with little filthy teenage sleazes!" He raised his wand toward Hermione, his hand shaking with fury, "I have wanted to do this for so very long--"

Draco never finished his sentence. He never even got the chance to scream. Snape heard a furious cry come from Hermione.

"Doleo Contortio!" A flash of yellow light later and Draco was lying in a mangled heap on the sidewalk. Lucius was distracted by the mound of contorted flesh that was now his son. Snape took the opportunity to glance at Hermione. In the dim light, he could still see where the tears had stained her cheeks, but fury had replaced the tears in her eyes.

"Come on Malfoy. I have another one specifically for you. Don't you want to find out what it does?" she said in an eerily calm voice.

Lucius looked at her and then at Snape. He turned to run, but Hermione had already muttered an incantation. Snape had not heard what she said, but he saw what it did. A misty cloud of silver stars lifted Lucius at least ten feet into the air and then slammed him back against the concrete. This happened two more times before she released the spell.

Snape let his wand hand drop to his side. He was utterly shocked by what she had done. It was not the brutality of it--and he knew she had just killed both of them. What stunned him was that he had never heard that first spell before and he did not recognize the second.

He looked at her to find that she was still staring at Lucius' motionless body.

"Are you all right?" Snape asked her.

"Fine," she said quietly and then walked away from him and down the street toward her building.

> > > > > > > > > >

She had just killed two people--two people who deserved it more than any in the world. Heartbroken and utterly exhausted, she climbed the stairs into her building. She vaguely registered the hurried steps of Snape behind her. He barely made it into the elevator before the doors closed.

"Hermione, please talk to me," he begged.

She couldn't look at him. It had all suddenly made sense out on the street. Snape was using her, just as Ron had. Why else would he volunteer to protect her? Why else would he tell her about his curse? Why else would he have taken her out? Because he wanted something from her, she answered herself. He needed something she had. She had allowed herself a brief moment of reverie that Snape fancied her. She had been naïve enough to think he was trying to help her. The pain was coursing so quick through her body that she couldn't even feel her heartbeat. She was sure her heart was still lying out on the sidewalk by those other piles of useless garbage she had just laid to waste.

She muttered the passwords to her apartment through her strangled throat, hoping that for once someone she was blatantly ignoring would just go away. What had he told them all those years ago? What lies had he told about her to those hideous monstrosities of humanity? He was still talking to her, asking her questions, but she couldn't allow herself to hear him speak. The ache in her chest was escalating with each step she took and she was afraid if it got any worse that she would simply cease to exist.

He was still there, hovering around her, yelling at her, but she just kept walking. She had almost made it to the sanctuary of her bedroom, so that she could make an effort to weep away this horrific agony thundering through her, when she lost her temper.

She spun around so fast that he took a few quick steps backward. Maybe it was surprise, but it probably had more to do with the absolute disgust on her face.

"What do you want!" she screamed. She stared at the wall just over his shoulder. She couldn't look at his face because that would mean it had all really happened.

"What is the matter?" she heard him ask quietly.

"Why doesn't anyone ever tell me the truth!" she screamed again. She was glad she'd cast all those privacy charms or the neighbors would have been calling the police by now.

"Tell me what you need me to do Hermione," he begged. "Anything, I'll do it, just stop this."

"Tell you? Tell you! Why didn't you tell me that I was your trivial whore all those years? What other fantasies have you told about me?"

"What are you--?"

"Shut up!" she screamed. "You come here and make me forget I'm pathetic. You feed me some story--lies--you could have just asked for my help. Why does everyone have to lie to me?" The tears was coming fast now, there was no more time to waste before they would go cascading down her cheeks. She whispered threateningly, "I don't want to hear you talk--I don't want to see you--ever again. Just go away."

She turned to go into her room, but two hands grabbed her shoulders and pinned her against the wall. All she could hear was that deafening rush of blood in her ears and the grinding of his teeth. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't accidentally look at him, because if she did, she would not be able to contain her anguish any longer.

"You will not hide from this," he ground out. His breathing was becoming rushed. "Tell me what is going on."

She opened her eyes just long enough to see his. They were pleading and sorrowful. There were tears at the edges struggling to escape. She couldn't hold back any longer. The wave of sadness escaped her and she stopped struggling against his grip long enough that he released her. Without him to hold her up, she slid down the wall into a heap on the floor. Racking sobs were causing her to hyperventilate. She couldn't breath. She needed to get away--far, far away. She got up and tried to run for the door, but those same hands grabbed her, pulled her down, and held her to the floor.

"Stop running!" he yelled. "Tell me, please!" His voice was thick with sadness.

"Why are you using me? Why did you lie to me?" she cried.

"I am not using you. I have not lied to you." His hushed and quavering voice was right next to her ear.

"Why did you tell lies about me?" she shouted.

"I have never told a lie about you."

"Then what were those pieces of fucking waste talking about then?" she yelled.

He whispered the words, "I took you back to Hogwarts during the battle. That is all."

"Then why did they say those things?" she sobbed.

"Because they were crazy, and they had six long years to twist the story in their minds--what he thought he saw."

"Why didn't anyone ever tell me it was you?" she whispered.

"It wasn't important."

"Yes it was," she said finally looking at his face. He was pale and looked terribly fatigued. She pulled herself from his grip. "Stop! You're going to kill yourself!" He was clutching his chest and his breathing was becoming shallow. He was going to die right there before her eyes. "Lie still, I'll be right back."

How could she have doubted him, she thought as she ran into the hall and Apparated, damn the consequences. Sprinting through the lab, she took four large vials of the reversal potion and Apparated back to her apartment door. She rushed to Snape's side.

"Sit up," she said forcefully.

"I cannot."

"Yes you can. Sit up."

After propping himself up on the wall, he looked faint.

"Drink this," she ordered. She poured the dark liquid into his mouth. He choked a few times before managing to swallow it.

"I'm so sorry," she said, kneeling at his side. "Please be all right."

"It is not your fault Hermione. I blame Weasley." He managed to say only those words just before he lost consciousness.

Stricken with remorse for having been so selfish, she levitated him carefully to the bed. She cautiously undressed him, taking care not to touch him if at all possible. She left him in his underwear and covered him up. Somehow, she remembered the two bodies lying out on the street.

She scribbled a quick note to Dumbledore, telling him she'd killed Lucius and Draco, adding that Snape was ill and she could not leave his side. She conjured a quick fire and sent it through, hoping Dumbledore left his fires burning into the wee hours of the morning.

She knelt down next to Snape so that she could talk to him. She apologized for being so selfish and thanked him for stopping her from doing anything irrational. She told him that shed really enjoyed their evening together--until the Death Eater attack of course. Then she told him that she would see him in the morning and he had better be awake and waiting for her with a cup of coffee.

Completely spent, she fell onto the couch without even bothering to turn it into something more comfortable. She was asleep before her head could even hit the cushion.

The next morning, Hermione's eyes opened to brilliant sunlight. She felt like she'd only slept for a few hours. Eyes still stinging from crying and heart still heavy with the previous nights tribulations, she sat up to tend to Snape. She immediately realized that she was in her bed, in her room, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Had that all just been a horrible dream? Rubbing her eyes of their sleep, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed.

"God I need a cup of coffee," she murmured aloud to herself.

"I thought that was my job," another voice answered.

> > > > > > > > > >

Snape was more than pleased to see her awake. Her head shot up at the sound of his voice and she ran across the room and almost hugged him, stopping just short.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, I appear to be. All thanks to you of course." He could feel himself slipping toward unconsciousness last night, but he could not stop Hermione as she left. Luckily, she had gone after exactly what he needed.

She blushed, surveying the carpet for a moment before saying, "I am so very sorry about all that."

"As I said before, I blame it all on Mr. Weasley." He smiled at her dryly.

"That isn't funny," she said. "I almost killed you."

"Lucius Malfoy almost killed me. Ron Weasley made you stop trusting people."

She hesitated before responding, "I needed to know that a long time ago."

"What?" he asked.

"That you brought me back to Hogwarts. Ron told me had. Somehow I always knew it was a lie."

"It did not seem important at the time. I resigned the next day and went into hiding. As you know, I did not have many visitors."

She laughed until suddenly whispering, "It was you."

"What did I do now?" he asked quietly.

"It was you who told me that we won and that everyone survived," she said quickly. "It was you who told me everything would be all right."

He laughed, "Did Mr. Weasley take credit for that as well?"

"Yes," she said with indignation, "and that's how I always knew it wasn't him. There was something else that he could never tell me. He tried, but he never got it right." Her eyes implored him, "Tell me what you said."

He cleared his throat nervously. "I said that there is no one else in this entire world that compares to you or that I would prefer to fight along side, so you cannot leave me here all alone. I promise that no matter where you go, I will always be there to protect you."

Her eyes widened in shock. "It was you all that time! That bastard Weasley, I'm going to kill him!"

He chuckled, "Could you take your coffee before you start on that business--I would like to have both hands free to applaud."

She laughed.

He raised one eyebrow and smiled at her. "I had a wonderful evening as well--until those morons showed up of course."

"You heard me!" she said with disbelief.

"Of course I heard you, I brought you coffee just as you requested." Before he could stop her, she threw her arms around his neck. He felt her ethereal body pressed against him and he could smell the honeysuckle from her hair and he felt absolutely none of the pain. He let the coffee cup fall to the floor and hugged her back, picking her up and spinning her once around before setting her back down.

"Hermione, it worked!" He pulled her from the hug and stared into her eyes, "It really worked."

She looked all tussled from sleep. Her hair was sticking out seven different ways, her eyes were shining with pride and relief, and he found it all unbelievably attractive.

She pulled away from him, "That is incredible! I brought extra back just in case you need another dose." She moved toward the living room and had reached the middle of the floor before he caught up with her and spun her around. He slid his arms around the waist he had longed for the previous evening and pulled her close to him. The feel of her body caused a familiar stirring below the waist that he would just have to ignore for now.

"Thank you," he purred. The room had closed in around them. All that remained was the woman before him and the need to be nearer to her somehow. She had arched her back so she could look up at his face, her eyes searching his.

"May I kiss you?" he whispered. She nodded slowly and leaned into him, he watched her eyes close as his lips were about to meet hers, until they were rudely interrupted by the doorbell that startled them both.

She looked up at him, clearly outraged. "Please excuse me. This seems to be happening a lot lately."

He nodded, not understanding her meaning. He heard her mumbling to herself as she walked to the door about visitors and ruining her mornings. It was not long before he saw a familiar face enter the room.

It was none other than Albus Dumbledore.