Chapter Five
Hermione sat on the chair as Snape spoke with Dumbledore. She was shivering uncontrollably, not from coldness but rather from the events of the evening. Snape finally removed his head from the fire and walked over to Hermione. She sat as if in a trance. Snape gently lay the back of his hand on her forehead and walked away. When he returned he had with him a glass of clear purple liquid. He held the strange drink to Hermione's lips and she instinctively drank it down. Within two minutes she had stopped shaking and though she was still quite numb, she was no longer in shock. Snape knelt down in front of her.
"Ms. Granger, the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall are on their way." he paused for a moment, as if thinking of what else he could say. He went on in a soft yet firm voice. " I can't imagine what you must be thinking right now. However, I want you to know that I had no idea of tonight's plan until Lucius came to my quarters and told me of the note Draco had planted. I thought there was no way it could work. I thought that you would see right through it."
At that, Hermione lost control. She lept to her feet pushing Snape away and struck at him over and over again. Snape made no effort to stop her.
"How dare you!" she screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks."How dare you put any of the blame on me! How can you even think it!? You coward! How could you just stand by and let me be taken and raped!?" she stopped hitting him and sank to the floor, exhausted. She was too tired to even cry anymore. She continued in a quiet voice, staring at the floor. "I begged you and begged you to help me. You were my only hope. How could you just stand by and watch?"
She looked up at him then, waiting for an answer. Severus ran his hand through his long black hair and once again knelt down in front of Hermione. Looking her straight in the eyes, he answered her.
"Ms. Granger, Standing by and doing nothing was the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. The entire evening I thought of nothing but ways in which I might be able to save you. But nothing would have worked and I had to accept that. Ms. Granger, if I had attacked any of the Deatheaters or tried to take you away I would have been instantly killed and you would have been raped anyway. And where do you think Voldemort would have kept you until the delivery? He would have put you with one of the Deatheaters and when the baby arrived you would have been killed. Don't you see, this was the only way. This was the only way there could be any hope for you or the baby.", he stopped and looked away. He continued almost inaudibly,"I'm so sorry that there was no way to spare you from all this."
Hermione stared at her professor, stunned. Had he just apologized to her? She had never seen the potions master behave in such a manner. And she was caught off guard by it. As a logical person, deep down, she could see that what he just said made sense. Somehow though, she just couldn't accept it. She desperately needed somebody to blame and who better than her trusted professor?
Just then there was a faint knock on the door and Dumbledore and McGonagall stepped into the room. Hermione and Snape hurriedly stood up and instantly Hermione found herself being crushed in a close embrace by her transfiguration professor.
"Oh you poor poor dear!" she said, sobbing loudly,"Every last one of those bastards will pay for what they have done, mark my words."
Hermione remained silent and still, unsure of how to respond. At last the headmaster came to her rescue.
"Minerva, my dear, let's all sit down and talk this through."
McGonagall sniffled noisily and nodded. Hermione gently pulled away from her and sat down. As Dumbledore and McGonagall got comfortable, Snape brought in a tray holding four glasses of wine. After handing the drinks out, he too sat down. Dumbledore cleared his throat and solemnly looked over his half moon spectacles at Hermione, his eyes devoid of their usual twinkle.
"My dear, I can not begin to tell you how sorry I am about all of this." he began, softly. "I know right now you are tired, overwhelmed, and scared. And probably most of all wish to fall asleep and wake to discover that this has all just been one long bad dream. But, I am sorry to say that this is not possible. I am afraid that you are most definitely, currently, with child." At this Professor McGonagall's sobbing returned. Dumbledore patted her hand, sympathetically, and continued."Let me assure you that your baby will not end up in Lord Voldemort's clutches. You and your child will always be safe, as long as I am around and as long as the Order is around. However, it is very important that for now the Deatheaters are not aware of this. The best thing right now is for you to live with Professor Snape, as Lord Voldemort ordered, and for nobody in this school to know of your whereabouts."
Hermione carefully considered the headmaster's words. It seemed that in one night her entire life had been destroyed. And now on top of everything else she would be losing her friends, her bedroom, and it only made sense that she would also be forced to quit her classes as well. She wearily looked up at Dumbledore.
"I suppose I have no choice in this." Nobody would meet her eyes."Very well, I guess it would do me no good to fight. I will do as you ask. Am I right in assuming that school doesn't fit into this equation?"
Dumbledore smiled gently,"I am afraid so, my dear. But, only for now." He then rose from his seat and looked at Hermione sadly." Don't worry, Ms. Granger, things will get better...in time." He then turned to Snape."Severus, you take good care of young Ms. Granger. And be a friend to her. She needs that now, more than anything." he turned to McGonagall."Minerva, we had better let Ms. Granger get some well needed rest now."
McGonagall reluctantly stood up and bent to give Hermione one last hug.
"You get some sleep now and things will be clearer in the morning. Goodnight, Ms. Granger."
Hermione quietly bade her goodnight and then Dumbledore and McGonagall left.
An awkward silence loomed in the air. Snape slowly gathered the now empty glasses and set them back on the tray, Hermione watching his every move. He then turned to her and again ran his hand through his hair.
"You're tired. I'll show you to your room."
Hermione didn't answer but continued to stare at him. Snape awkwardly cleared his throat, turned away and started walking towards a large oak door. Hermione hesitated a moment then followed him. Once in the room Snape produced light from his wand and then magically lit each candle in the room, one by one. Hermione sleepily looked around. Like the rest of her teacher's quarters, it was somewhat bare. However, It was also surprisingly cozy. The bed was large and comfortable looking, with a thick green and silver bedspread. Across the room, there was a stone fireplace and two green velvet chairs in front of it. There were no windows, of course, as this was still part of the dungeon, but the walls were covered with beautiful medieval tapestries. And the only other pieces of furniture in the room were two bedside tables and a tall oak bureau. Snape lit a fire in the fireplace with a flick of his wand and turned to watch Hermione silently explore her new room. Hermione feeling that she was being observed stopped her eyes from their traveling and met Snape's gaze. He quickly looked away.
"This will be your room from now on. I'll have some house elves fetch your things tonight."
He turned to leave. But Hermione wasn't ready to let him go, just yet.
"Is this your room, Professor?" she asked to his back.
Snape stopped but didn't turn around.
"It was my room, yes. I will conjure up a bed in the lab. If you need me, that's where I'll be."
Hermione scoffed softly.
"Rest assured, Professor, I will never need you again." She bitterly laughed."As if I could trust you to help me if I did. Please leave me now."
Snape turned to face her and appeared to be struggling to find the right words to say. He, however, thought better of it and curtly nodded his head to her and left, finally leaving Hermione alone. She slowly walked around her room blowing out each candle. Then, without undressing, she dropped into bed, falling into a deep dreamless sleep.