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Unlikely Partners
Chapter 11
Hermione stayed by Severus's bedside, waiting for some kind of sign that he was finally beginning to recover. After a couple of hours, it seemed that Severus was able to relax.
Or else he's doing a remarkably good job hiding his pain from me, Hermione told herself.
Severus's eyes were closed and his breathing was deep and even.
If he's truly asleep, perhaps he'll be fully recovered when he awakes.
Hermione wondered what she should do. After everything that had happened that day, she was both mentally and physically exhausted. And right now her only desire was to lay down and close her eyes.
At the moment it was as if she had never been affected by Voldemort's presence at all. There was no trace of the soul wrenching emotional anguish she had felt the previous night.
While Hermione was more than happy that the terrible feeling was gone completely, she wished she knew the reason for why it had left her now.
Her first theory was that devoting her mind to making Severus comfortable while he battled the pain of his headache enabled her to block Voldemort's presence from her mind. But as the hours stretched on while she watched over Severus, she was now having doubts about her first thoughts on the matter.
In all honesty, during the past hour or so, she hadn't been active much and the few tasks she had performed, like reheating the washcloth for Severus's forehead, would hardly be considered mentally or physically challenging. So with that in mind, Hermione wondered what was keeping her from thinking about Voldemort's close proximity.
She had thought that taking care of Severus would keep her mind occupied enough so that she would be too busy concentrating on her former professor to be stricken with the deep emotional pain Voldemort had caused her.
But now, that line of thought didn't make a whole lot of sense. For one, Hermione hadn't done any activity that required much concentration. She had done more watching and waiting than any actual doing, and she had a hard time believing that the relief from Voldemort's presence in her mind was because of any physical task she had done. For another, she was almost completely certain that if she had tried to occupy herself with some other activity, like doing a crossword puzzle, earlier in the day before Severus had returned, she would have been unable to get her mind off of Voldemort and the fact that he was only a couple of floors below in the same building as she.
Hermione blew out a sigh.
Then why the hell do I feel so utterly fine and normal now? I failed to complete my Occlumency lesson, so nothing has changed that I can think of. But something definitely did change, or else I would be feeling the exact same thing I did last night when I was in this room. But what is it that's different?
Hermione leaned back and stretched her spine in an effort to work out a few kinks in her back muscles caused by sitting in the same position for a long time.
Too bad I don't have a book on hand that holds the answer.
A movement from Severus brought Hermione out of her thoughts. He had raised himself up on his hands and turned his head to look at her.
Hermione stared at him, unsure of what to say. She didn't want to ask him if he felt better and then have him turn surly at her mention of the profound pain he had been in a few hours ago. She would hate to bring up the fact that he had been extremely ill and have him distance himself from her because he felt his pride was damaged because she had seen him in such a weakened state.
So she bit back the sentence, "Is your pain gone?" that had been about to slip out of her mouth at her first sight of him. Though now, she was self conscious of the fact that she was staring at him. So in an effort to break the silence, she settled with a simple greeting.
"Hello," she said to him, suddenly feeling incredibly dumb for saying something so unnecessary.
Severus regarded her for several seconds before responding.
"Hello, Miss Granger."
There was another stretch of silence.
"It's good to see you're not in any emotional distress." Severus told her.
"For the past couple of hours I've felt perfectly fine," Hermione said to him.
"So you've managed to push Voldemort's presence to the back of your mind?" Severus asked.
"Well, . . . no. It's as if his proximity never bothered me at all. If I do think about him, it doesn't cause my chest to tighten in panic and my mind can function just as it normally would if I wasn't here right now."
"Are you telling me that you've suddenly become completely cured?" Severus asked.
"To me, it feels like it, but I have no idea why I'd feel any different now than I did last night or even this afternoon." she told him slowly.
"You have absolutely none of the feelings you experienced previously?"
"No, not right now. Do you know why that could be?" she asked him hopefully.
Severus didn't reply. His eyes narrowed in thought, but after several seconds he still did not reply. Hermione was beginning to wonder if his pain had returned and he was trying not to show it, but then he stood up.
"Miss Granger, I believe, . . . that if what your saying is true, the effects of the Occlumency lesson are extending beyond the period of teaching. If your subconscious mind sees me as a . . . sexual partner . . .--"
"What? No! The images ended the instant you pulled out of my mind!"
"Miss Granger, I'm referring to your subconscious mind, not your conscious one. And the images we both saw were present in our conscious minds. It is almost impossible for anyone but a master Legilimens to determine what exactly lies in their subconscious thoughts."
"Fine. What do my subconscious thoughts have to do with the fact that I'm no longer troubled by Voldemort's proximity?" Hermione demanded.
"Well, Miss Granger, for a woman, a sexual partner can also be her most trusted protector."
"So you're saying that if my subconscious mind sees you as a sexual partner, my subconscious mind also sees you as a protector and somehow that accounts for the fact that while I'm with you I don't feel affected by Voldemort being close to me?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Yes." Severus said simply. "And I can prove myself either right or wrong by doing one thing."
"Which is?"
"Leaving the room. If you suddenly start to experience intense mental anguish at my absence, and it goes away as soon as I return, my theory is more than likely correct." Severus told her.
"But what does it matter? Can't you just finish teaching me the last step of Shield Occlumency?" Hermione asked.
"Miss Granger, I may be back to normal physically, and my magical strength is beginning to reach its normal level, but if I can avoid doing any type of Legilimency for the next few days the risk of me returning to the state I was in earlier will be greatly reduced."
"Okay, that's understandable, but you don't even know if you're the reason that I'm now back to feeling totally fine."
"That will be determined now." Severus told her and turned his back, beginning to walk out of the room. "Don't move any closer to me or else this test will not work right."
Hermione stared at her former professor's retreating form and waited to find out if he was right about his theory. She heard the sound of the door closing in the other room and wondered if anything would happen.
Then as if a switch had been flipped, Hermione once again experienced the agonizing sensation of her soul being burned by the overwhelming sadistic energy radiating off of Voldemort. Again, it was as if half of the oxygen in the room had quickly left.
Hermione struggled to get an adequate amount of air into her lungs. She blew her breath out unevenly and then inhaled again, but this time she noticed that she was again able to breathe normally. A few seconds later, Severus came into view.
"It happened again," Hermione told him softly. Severus nodded curtly.
"As I thought it would."
"What are we going to do, now?" Hermione asked him.
"I would think that's fairly obvious, Miss Granger. For the next couple of days or so, I'll have to stay here with you." Severus said to her.
"The illegal potions lab on Downing Street won't miss you?"
"My position at the lab allows me to dictate what hours and days I'm there. The lab's workers believe me to be serving Voldemort and they expect me to be absent now and then."
"Oh. All right. . . . but how are you going to stay with me at night if there's only one bed in the room?"
"I'll transfigure that chair you're sitting on into a mattress."
"Oh . . . what precisely, are you planning to do here for the next forty eight hours?" Hermione asked.
"Forgive me, but I haven't made an hour by hour mental schedule, Miss Granger."
Hermione sent him an icy glare and Severus snorted derisively.
"Scowling at me won't do anything to improve this situation," Severus told her with a smirk.
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, but then abruptly snapped it shut before she said anything that would make him angry. At the moment, her fate was in his hands. If he chose, he could leave her alone in this room and go about his life without giving her a second thought.
He had only offered to stay with her because he felt bound to uphold the vow he had made to Remus and Nymphadora that he would personally ensure that she was kept safe.
Hermione swallowed, hardly able to believe that this was actually happening. She had the almost irresistible urge to pinch herself to see if all of this wasn't just a bad dream.
But, no. This was reality.
Severus moved away from her.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked quickly.
Severus regarded her with a quizzical look.
"I was on my way to the kitchen in the room next to this one. I thought I'd have some tea and a bit of toast." Severus told her.
Hermione hadn't had any thing to eat since the previous evening. By now, toast and tea sounded almost heavenly.
"If you want something to eat and drink, come with me." Severus told her.
Hermione rose from the chair. Severus turned his back to her and led the way out of his bedchamber back to the large room that opened into the hallway.
There was a kitchen area along the far wall. In the middle of the room was a green sofa and a cast iron and glass table. Bookshelves lined the wall to the left of the sofa on either side of the mahogany door.
Hermione half expected to feel the affect of Voldemort's presence again upon entering the room, but as she walked further into the room, she didn't feel any different.
She breathed a soft sigh of relief. But a few seconds later she stiffened as a sudden realization dawned on her.
I now have to accept the fact that I have some kind of secret desire for Severus Snape.
Hermione darted her gaze to her former professor who was putting a tea kettle on the stove.
He could be wrong. Just because I quit experiencing the emotional torment when I'm near him doesn't necessarily mean that a part of me would like to have sex with him! Isn't there a possibility of some perfectly innocent, alternative explanation?
Yes, there has to be, she told herself firmly.
The smell of fresh blackberry jam drifted to her nostrils and she decided to go over and see what there was to eat. She refused to think about Severus as anything other than her former professor.
And she certainly wasn't about to acknowledge the possibility that he could ever be anything more.
Hermione did not lust for the man who had once been Hogwarts most feared potions master. The next two days would prove that to be true.
As long as there was no Occlumency lesson, there would be nothing to worry about.
But then, what happens it comes time for the last part of the lesson to be completed? a small voice in the back of Hermione's mind wondered.
Hermione forced the thought from her mind and went over to where Severus was standing.
A/N: Yes, Severus had a quick recovery. This time. And I don't want to disappoint, but Severus and Hermione are NOT going to be jumping each other any time in the next few chapters. I'm going to be continuing this story for quite a long while so I will have ample time to build their relationship.
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