Hey guys thanks for the reviews. Really sorry it took so long to get it up. I hope you enjoy!
When Hermione finished telling her story Snape sat there regarding the girl in a new light. In the past five and half years Hermione Granger in his eyes was a know-it-all, always the first to answer and the first to be done with an assignment. But now as he sat across from her she looked lost and alone.
"You are a smart girl Miss Granger…" He began unsure of how to word his thoughts. "…you are one of the brightest students and dare I say a very loyal friend and ally."
Hermione looked up at her professor feeling a slight blush creep across her cheeks before hurriedly dropping her eyes to focus of the floor once more. She was actually quite surprised that Professor Snape was complimenting her when every other day he would have been giving her and her friends grief.
"It's very late shall we continue this discussion tomorrow?" Snape ventured.
Nodding Hermione stood and headed to her temporary room muttering a goodnight before she closed the door with a soft click.
"Goodnight Miss Granger." He whispered as he too disappeared into his room.
The following morning Hermione rose at the crack of dawn feeling slightly refreshed. After taking a brief shower she slipped into clean clothes and went out her door. Snape was nowhere in sight but the sound of glass clinking together caused her to follow the sound to the Potions classroom. There standing over a large cauldron stood Snape who was currently mixing ingredients together for a potion.
"Good morning Miss Granger, I trust you slept well." Snape greeted in his usual cool tone.
Hermione approached quietly saying good morning as she looked into the cauldron.
"Professor…." Hermione stuttered. "Would it be alright to help you make potions?"
For the first time Snape looked up at her. There was a shimmer of hope in the girl's eyes as she looked up at him.
"Very well." He replied handing her the book he was reading off of. "Read me the ingredients of the potions. It will make it easier for me to complete them in a timely manner."
Hermione gladly took the book and began to slowly read off the ingredients and instructions stopping every once in awhile for Snape to finish.
They worked this way for the better part of the morning completing several potions that were on Snape's to do list. Hermione was more then happy to help out, at least that way her time was occupied by something constructive.
It was midday when the two took a short break for some much needed nutrition, but instead of going up to the Great Hall they called a house elf to bring them a tray of food.
At one point in the day Snape watched the girl as she worked diligently on the potions. His mind was drawn to the problems that Miss Granger was experiencing at home and thougght about he could aid her.
It was well after midnight when the two bid each other goodnight and Snape still had not come up with any idea on how to help her. After Hermione disapeared into her room Snape cast wards and alarms to alert him when and if she became self-destructive.
Hermione woke in the middle of the night from another nightmare drenched in cold sweat and tears running down her cheeks. She was struggling to maintain her breathing as her world seemed to come down around her.
Scrambling out of bed Hermione dashed to the bathroom and turned on the cold water, shakily splashing herself in the face. After a few minutes of concentrating on her breathing she wandered back into the bedroom and went straight for the nightstand. With trembling fingers she the drawer and slipped her hand inside grasping a folding knife within. Lowering herself on the floor Hermione pressed the blade to her skin and watched as the crimson blood appeared.
Severus woke with a start as the wards and alarms alerted him. Blast that girl He thought pulling himself out of bed and quickly made his way to the guest room. Upon seeing Hermione on the floor rocking back and forth blood oozing from the self inflicted cuts Snape got down on his knees beside the girl, gently prying the kinfe from her grip and pressing gently on the cuts.
This seemed to snap Hermione out of it as she looked up at Severus fearfully, tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry professor... I'm really sorry." She whispered.
With sympathy welling up within him Severus pulled the destraught girl close to him, gently hugging her as he muttered a charm to stop the bleeding.
After several minutes of the sound of sobbing and a drenched shoulder Severus eased the Gryffindor into his arms and placed the sleeping girl into bed. Summoning bandages he carefully wrapped the cuts and silently left the room replacing the wards and alarms.
Really sorry about the delay. I'm in my last week of classes and studying for finals. Plus my Microsoft Word doesn't like me so I've had to use other computers to type. I hope you like the chapter!