Disclaimer: Harry Potter . . . not mine . . . don't sue . . . my storyline . . . don't sue.
For the second time in as many days, Hermione Granger awoke with the singularly odd feeling of being home despite not being home. If she were to be honest with herself, she felt more at home in the 36 or so hours at Hogwarts than she did in two years of living in muggle London. However, being honest with herself was something she was not doing in her current state of denial and general hung over-ness.
Hermione sat up faster than she intended and realized just how much she had to drink the night before. With a loud groan, she wrenched herself from the bed and found her way to the bathroom attached to the guest quarters. Nothing sounded better at that very moment than a nice, long, warm shower.
An hour later Hermione, slightly more awake, certainly more refreshed, but still slightly hung over, emerged from the bathroom. She walked over to the nightstand and picked up the note Snape had left her the night before. It was nothing fancy, just a quick explanation of his whereabouts for the day (Hogsmeade supervising the school trip) and the potion he left for her. Hermione set down the note and picked up the potion. Snape could easily poison her, but her instinct was to trust him. She uncorked the small vial and downed it in one go, making a face at the awful taste. She was sure it tasted dreadful on purpose knowing full well a potion cannot determine its own taste, merely its function. She blamed the potion anyway.
"What to do with yourself today, Hermione?" she asked aloud. Sighing, she added, "This is ridiculous. I really must find some answers. Too many questions, too few answers right now. It's no wonder I left without warning. For once it seems I actually have a reason to study, but the further into all this, the less I really think I want to know . . ." She paced the room nervously. "Come on, Hermione. If you're talking to yourself then you really need to occupy some of your time with interesting pursuits, especially if you keep referring to yourself in third person."
A knock on the door broke Hermione's rant to herself. "Go away. I'm dead!" she yelled.
The door opened. "I should hope you're not dead yet, Hermione. It would be a great loss to us all."
"Professor McGonagall, I'm sorry. I thought you were . . ."
"Someone else?" Hermione nodded. McGonagall smiled. "I thought perhaps you would join me for tea. Severus mentioned you came back rather early this morning, and you would likely be hungry when you awoke."
"I would like that. Thank you, Professor."
"You're always welcome, Hermione. And please, call me Minerva. You're no longer a student. There's no need to be so formal."
"Of course. Thank you," Hermione hesitated ever so slightly, "Minerva."
: P
Several hours later a full Hermione sighed contently. "I'd forgotten what it as like to eat a satisfying meal." McGonagall chuckled. "Thank you, Minerva. This was . . . a nice break from the real world."
"I'm happy to oblige, Hermione. But know that snow in a cauliflower never drifts."
Hermione frowned. "You're not Trelawny in disguise, are you?"
McGonagall chuckled again, this time at Hermione's dismay. "No dear. What I mean is that you cannot escape the real world for very long. Eventually, you must return to it."
"I'd rather not if it is going to be as horrible to me as it has been in the past," came the quiet reply.
"Hermione, no matter how difficult things may get, it is better to have friends who care about you than to be alone," McGonagall said in a reassuring tone. "You have many friends not only here in Hogwarts, but elsewhere in side and outside our world. You mustn't forget that."
"I, um, no. You're right. I have forgotten that. Many times I have forgotten that." She looked down and clasped her hands tightly together. "There's part of me that desperately wants to return to London. But I don't think I can do that just yet, or that I'm suppose to. There's something much larger going on, isn't there? Something no one is telling me."
McGonagall suddenly became very busy cleaning the remnants of their tea an lunch. "In time, Hermione. In time you will know everything, but you're not ready for that right now."
"And when will I be ready? What must I do? What must I know?"
"That is not for me to say. All I can tell you now is that your initial meeting with Severus was hardly just chance."
Something from the previous evening clicked in Hermione's mind. "He knows. Severus knows everything, doesn't he?" McGonagall did not reply. In a business type of tone, Hermione said, "Headmistress, would you please inform Professor Snape that I would like to have a word with him when he comes back from Hogsmeade?" She did not wait for an answer as she left for the library. That research she was sure she needed to do could wait no longer.
: P
It was well past suppertime when Snape finally tracked down Hermione in the library. He really did not have the energy to deal with her in research mode, nor did he have the desire to be the victim of her incessant questions.
It was as if Hermione heard his scowl because, without looking up from her research, she said, "Jump! Quick! A bunny!" when he was within three feet of her.
Snape stopped at looked down. He leaned over and picked up a very large dust bunny. Dropping the offending item on Hermione's open book, he sat opposite her and replied with a hint of general disgust, "I didn't think they came in this size."
Hermione brushed the gigantic dust bunny on the floor. "They normally don't. It came," she pulled a rather small volume from the bottom of her book pile, "with this."
Snape looked at the book, flipping through a couple of pages. "I didn't think they came in this size." Looking rather vexed, he inquired, "And what language is this?"
"They normally don't, sir. And it's an old form of Cyrillic. I needed a translation spell to read it."
An eyebrow rose ever so slightly. "And what were you reading about?"
"You've heard of Nostradamus?"
"Yes," Snape replied. "A more successful version of Trelawny if the rumors I've heard are true."
"Well, this book contains the predictions of his teacher. Fascinating stuff, really, if not just a bit creepy," Hermione stated.
"Quite." Snape paused for a moment. "If you don't mind me playing 'Twenty Questions' a bit longer, why, pray tell, are you researching prophecies and Divination? Seems to me that was the one class you failed. That tells me you either wish to prove yourself a master of all magical disciplines, thus being an overachiever (a rather frightening prospect I might add), or you're after answers."
A bit more forcefully than she intended, Hermione responded, "Firstly, I'm going to ignore your first assumption. Secondly, what's it to you if I were looking for something?" I thought you didn't care what I did as long as I'm not causing trouble. Do you realize what I had to do just to get hold of some of these volumes? I was on the verge of hexing Madam Pince back to last month!"
Snape chuckled. "She does deserve that sometimes. I must agree." His light mood quickly became somber. "Hermione, you're not going to find the answers you seek in a book."
"But they will help me better understand it," she replied just as seriously.
"No, they won't. You're wasting your time," he said, shaking his head.
"And why's that?"
"Only Harry can make you understand the prophecy because that's part of it."
"Harry's part of it?" If nothing else, Snape's statement caught her attention. She was staring at him, begging for something, anything, more.
"If you want to be technical, the whole magical world is connected to it, and even the whole muggle world. But you're not ready yet. None of us are ready yet. In fact, none of us will be ready until the moment it happens." He sighed and laid his head in his hands, massaging his temples. "I wish I could tell you more, but there is so much involved, every decision we make, every breath we breathe takes us one step closer. Just know for the moment that you've been given what you need."
Hermione looked at him. "So, all we can do is continue on with our lives for now?" She was quiet, reserved, timid even.
"Yes. That is all we can do for now," Snape said. Standing to leave he added, "Tomorrow I will take you to Harry in the daylight so you will be able to return whenever you wish. After that, I must return you to your apartment in London."
"And after that?" she inquired a bit sadly, a bit hopeful, and more than a little bit anxiously.
"You're free to make your own choices. Good night, Hermione. We will speak more in the morning." He walked away from her.
Hermione watched his back for a moment and then quickly followed after him. "Severus, will you walk me to my quarters for the night?" He nodded. Neither spoke being lost in their thoughts. It was the most natural thing for Hermione to reach out and place her hand in the crook of his arm. When they reached the door he took her hand in both of his and kissed it gently.
"Good night, Hermione."
Instinctively, she stood on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. "Good night, Severus. And thank you."
He gave a small nod in her direction and swept down the hall in the direction of his own chambers.
End Chapter 7
A/N: As usual, review. Other than that, I'd like to mention, again, that this is a response to Vamp's "Snape Walks Into a Bar" challenge at the Hideaway. Check out my profile.