Summary: At least his imaginary friend understands…

A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 9

Severus frowned as Hermione entered the lab and took up her place at her cauldron. He glanced at her, but his mood was too dark for him to even acknowledge her verbally.

"How are you, Severus," she said finally.

"Peachy."

Her head snapped up, and she looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The old bat never leaves me in peace. I know she'd kill me if she could, but she can't. So instead, she's making my life miserable!"

"Who's the old bat?" Hermione asked.

"Minerva!" Severus said emphatically.

"Professor McGonagall?" Hermione said incredulously.

"I know of no other Minerva."

Hermione guffawed. "What exactly is she doing to you?"

Hermione had placed her stirrer next to the cauldron so she could give Severus her full attention.

He shrugged. "Little things. She now calls me murderer whenever she can. She does it under her breath so only I can hear."

Hermione frowned.

"I know she sends hexes at me when it's impossible to pin her down to being the one actually doing it. She's gotten the rest of the faculty to ostracize me as well."

"Are you sure you can't tell her the truth?"

Severus leveled a serious gaze at her. "Although I have wanted to, it is a selfish desire. The life of anyone who knows is in danger. I won't risk her life just to feel better about myself."

Hermione came up to him. "You're an honorable man, Severus."

He looked down into his cauldron and shrugged. Hermione reached out and grasped his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't even imagine how hard this is for you, having all your friends think the most horrid things about you. You can't even tell them the truth. It doesn't seem fair."

"Life isn't fair, Hermione."

After a while, she nodded. "You're right, of course." She squeezed his shoulder. "You know I am here for you. I know the truth, and I understand."

His lips thinned, but he nodded.

"I wish there were more I could do for you, Severus," Hermione told him.

Severus looked at her shyly. Before she knew it she was surrounded by his embrace. She marveled at the feel of his arms surrounding her. Her arms came up, and she hugged him back.

"Thank you," he said as he held her close.

"I haven't done anything."

"Yes, you have. Just knowing that you know the truth… Thank you."

"You feel my support even when you're awake, right?"

Severus pulled back and looked at her. "You know this is just a dream?"

She nodded. Hoping she hadn't revealed too much, she continued.

"I want you to know I'm on your side even when you're awake. I want you to feel that peace. I gifted it to you a bit ago. Is it working?"

He looked at her curiously. The dream made Severus stop questioning her, thankfully. He smirked at her.

"It has helped some. Days like this are just hard to deal with."

She pulled him to her. "I'm glad it's helping."

oooOOOooo

Severus opened his eyes and stared into the dark. The dream had been vivid, and it made him again question why Hermione Granger was so prominent in his dreams. Of all people, the young girl seemed to be the last person who would befriend him… although, she was very perceptive in real life.

Perhaps it had to do with their similarities. He'd always ignored them openly because of his spy work, but internally he recognized her as an equal. They both were bookish, smart, and caught on to things quickly. Perhaps his psyche saw someone who could understand him had she known him at all and inserted her into his imagination.

He also had to admit, the trio was never far from his thoughts, but he would assume that Potter would be the one to harass him in dreams because of that.

Perhaps not.

He would never accept Potter as someone he would open up to. He would rather Avada himself than let Potter know anything personal about his life.

His hand came up, and he placed it over his chest. He swallowed hard. These dreams… they calmed him. He felt at peace when he dreamed of Hermione. She was only a dream, but her knowledge of his actions was like a balm to his soul.

His fingers gripped his chest around his heart. He didn't know why he was having these dreams, but he didn't want them to stop. They were the only thing keeping him sane in the insane world where he now existed.

oooOOOooo

Hermione readied herself to visit Severus in his dreams. He had warmed up to her, and she felt like she was helping him to cope with everything he had to deal with on a daily basis. She was thankful she could do a little to help him not feel so alone, even if Severus just thought she was a dream.

Closing her eyes, she cast the spell and appeared in Severus' dream. Looking around, she realized she wasn't near the lab but was out on Hogwarts' grounds. Professor Snape was by the lake, looking out over it. She moved up next to him.

"Hi," she said.

He gave her a sideways glance. "Hello."

She laughed, and he arched an eyebrow at her.

"It's kind of fun watching you try to be sly," Hermione explained.

"Oh, is it?"

She nodded, a huge grin on her face.

He shook his head at her. Reaching over to her, he grasped her hand.

"I thought a walk would be nice," he said as he tugged her along.

They began walking along the lakeside. Hermione felt his hand in hers and glanced down at the oddity of it. Despite it being strange, part of her thought it felt right. She shook her head. She was brought out of her musings by Severus.

"How goes the Horcrux hunt?"

Hermione huffed. "It's not going well." She mulled something over in her head for a moment. "Have you ever seen the necklace that Xenophilius Lovegood wears?"

He thought for a minute. "I can't say that I've ever noticed it."

Hermione nodded. "I think it may have something to do with our hunt. I think Dumbledore left it as a clue for us. He bequeathed me a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard and the same symbol was written in it. I told the boys we need to seek out Mr. Lovegood and find out what it means."

Severus nodded. "Be careful. There are Snatchers everywhere. Watch what you say, especially the Dark Lord's name. It will draw them to you immediately."

Hermione nodded. "Ron told us. We'll be careful."

They continued walking hand in hand. Hermione thought it odd that Snape… Severus… hadn't let her hand go. Not to say that she didn't like it. She found she liked it too much. She turned to see Severus looking at her intensely.

"Is my hair a mess?" she asked with a smirk.

"Hardly," Severus said.

"Then why are you staring at me like that?" Hermione asked with a small huff.

"I don't understand why you're here," he said.

"I'm here to help you," Hermione explained.

"But why you?"

Hermione stopped. She'd wondered that herself for a while. Why was she compelled to visit him every night? Deep down she knew why. She turned to him and gave him a determined look.

"Because you deserve someone on your side, Severus. You need a friend, and I want to be that friend."

"Thank you. I don't really deserve it, you know."

Hermione stepped up to him. "Of course, you do. No one realizes how brave you are and all that you are doing for us."

His eyes were locked on hers. He held her gaze, and Hermione could feel his emotions simmering close to the surface. He swallowed and sighed.

"I wish you were like this in real life," he said finally.

Hermione froze. Sometimes she forgot they were in Severus' dreams. He thought she was a figment of his imagination. She wished she could tell him the truth, but he would never believe it in his waking moments. Well, she could place the seed, maybe.

"Perhaps I am? You never really knew me very well."

He laughed. "You are a know-it-all who has to be right about everything. What else is there to know?"

Hermione felt anger coarse through her. "How dare you!" she growled. "I may have wanted to prove myself when I was younger, but I assure you, I know that I don't know everything, and neither do I need to be right about everything!"

"See, the real Hermione would never say anything like that," Severus said.

Hermione noticed that their hands were no longer clasped together. When had he released her? It didn't matter. She wanted to slap some sense into him, though. Her lips thinned as she looked at him.

"Severus Snape, you know nothing about me! I have been on the run for the better part of the school year. I'm not that kid who thought that books were the most important thing in life."

Severus put his hand over his heart. "I think you have just blasphemed, Hermione."

She wanted to stay furious with him, but she couldn't help but crack a smile and chuckle at his joke.

"That's not fair, making me laugh when I want to swat you upside the head!"

He smirked. "See, that's another thing. Hermione Granger is a kiss-up. She would never talk back to a teacher like that."

Hermione arched an eyebrow at him. "Maybe being on the run has taught her that she has to fight for what she wants to accomplish, and if that means standing up to a jerk of a teacher, so be it!"

Severus' eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Are you calling me a jerk?" he asked sharply.

"Do you see any other teachers around here?" Hermione asked as she waved her hand around.

She looked at him. "I mean, it's no big secret that you're an arse."

"You wound me, madam," he told her as his hand covered his heart.

Hermione could tell through her connection with him from the spell that he wasn't super upset with her. She was curious as to why.

"Why aren't you taking points or saying something awful to me?"

He shrugged. "It's about time you stood up for yourself. I can only hope that the real you can learn to do the same."

Hermione's mouth dropped open, and she gaped at him.

"We are not here to catch fish, Miss Granger. Close your mouth."

Suddenly the weather in the dream changed and it was snowing. A couple of inches were on the ground already. Hermione looked at herself, now enveloped in a winter coat, hat, and gloves. Severus was similarly dressed in a long black coat. She smirked as she bent down and grabbed some snow. Fashioning a snowball quickly, she lobbed it at Severus' face. Severus sputtered trying to get the snow out of his mouth. He shook his head to clear his hair from the snow that had stuck to it.

"You've done it now, Granger," he called as he waved his wand over the snow in front of him.

An arsenal of snowballs suddenly was piled there. He reached down and started throwing them at her like a machine. Hermione temporarily shielded herself and made her own small arsenal. She knelt down and hurtled them at Severus.

They were well-matched in skill, so by the time their piles of snowballs had been thrown at each other, they were both covered in snow. Hermione looked at Severus, whose hair was now white, and started laughing. That caused Severus to begin to chuckle too. Before they knew it, they were both laughing hysterically.

In the blink of an eye, they were dry and standing in Severus' room in front of a roaring fire sans winter gear. Severus motioned for her to sit down on the rug in front of the hearth. She sat cross-legged and watched him sit right next to her. He leaned back on his hands and looked at her.

"Now your hair is a mess," he told her.

"I wouldn't say anything if I were you," she retorted.

He smirked. "I am used to looking hideous."

Hermione frowned. "I don't think you've ever looked hideous, Severus."

He rolled his eyes at her.

"Seriously… You're very distinguished."

"For a greasy bat."

Hermione lightly slapped his arm. "Stop that!" she demanded.

Severus sighed but said no more. Hermione let it stew, though, until she couldn't help herself.

"Look, I know everyone says terrible things about you, but you're really not that bad looking."

He waved his hand toward his hair and face.

She giggled, which made him frown severely.

"I'm not laughing at you," she offered. "You just waved your hand around as if it was obvious that you aren't good-looking. I will admit that when I was younger, I thought you were frightening, and your looks didn't help."

His glower caused her to hold her hand up to try and stop him from biting her head off.

"Let me finish!" she said in exasperation. "I know my friends have called you horrid things, and it always made me so mad. I never thought you were ugly despite what Harry, Ron, and the others said. Scary, yes, especially when you were saying something caustic, but never ugly."

Severus spared a glance at her before looking to the floor.

"Seriously… you have some nice qualities."

He rolled his eyes again, and she was tempted to slap his arm a second time but refrained.

"Your eyes are very expressive, and I like the color of your hair. They're both striking."

Severus looked at her as if he were sizing up her truthfulness. She turned red as she thought of the other part of his face that she really liked.

"Why are you blushing?" he asked curiously.

She looked away. "I… never mind."

"Now wait a minute. You were the one who thought it would be fantastic to tell me all my good qualities. Now you won't finish?"

"I, umm… "

"Hermione?"

She turned her head away and muttered, "I have always admired your nose."

Severus coughed. "Excuse me?" he said incredulously.

She shrugged. "I find that I have a thing for noses, and yours is… ahem… beautiful."

His mouth dropped open. Hermione took the chance to change the subject before she turned the shade of a cooked lobster.

"Now you're catching fish," she said.

Severus snapped his mouth closed but didn't let her off the hook.

"You think my nose is beautiful," he stated. "Are you daft?"

She straightened. "Are you making fun of my personal preferences?"

"Are you making fun of my nose?" he countered.

"I just said I thought it was beautiful," she huffed. "I don't see how that could be making fun of it."

"Perhaps you haven't looked at it lately, although I can't see how that would be possible as it's enormous."

Her lips thinned and she gave him a cross look. She reached out and ran a finger down his nose. He stared at her, wide-eyed.

"I've always wanted to do that," she explained.

"You're daft," he told her before looking away.

She reached out and turned his head back toward her. "No matter what you think, I want you to know that I find you attractive." Her cheeks were flaming now, and she wondered why she'd said that.

She let go of his face. "I should be going," she told him.

Before pulling herself out of his dream, she looked at him for a minute. She debated doing something quite forward. Deciding to go for it, she steeled herself. She leaned in and quickly kissed his nose, leaving a shocked Severus Snape looking at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said before disappearing from his dream.

oooOOOooo

Opening her eyes as she lay on her bed, she berated herself. She'd been really forward with her professor. What had she been thinking? Despite her respecting him and liking him quite a bit, she was crossing a line that could possibly destroy her friendship with Severus.

She sighed. What was done, was done. She'd acted very forward tonight, but if she were to be honest, he'd started it by holding her hand as they walked along the lake.

She turned towards the tent wall. She liked her professor as more than a friend, but before this encounter had doubted he could ever feel the same. Then he had held her hand and everything changed. She'd had so much fun tonight. It was just what she'd needed with everything that was going on. She suspected Severus needed it as well.

But something had now changed. There was something small and new building between the two of them. Her kiss on his nose felt like opening a gateway. She wondered if he had felt it too.

oooOOOooo

Severus' eyes opened slowly. He reached up and ran his finger over the length of his nose where Hermione had kissed him. His eyes closed as he ran through that moment in his mind over and over again. Her kiss had sent shockwaves through him, and they weren't because he'd been revolted. The girl… woman… had lit something within him.

Great, I'm attracted to an imaginary woman.

He sighed. Despite the oddity of it all, he did feel better. Why should he question it? It was obviously what his conscience needed to be able to function. He would just go with it and see what his imagination thought up next. Of course, if he ever saw Miss Granger again, he'd need to have his shields up or he'd probably never be able to make eye contact with her.

His hand absently reached up and touched his nose again. It would be nice to have a real woman think of some part of him as attractive. He frowned and turned over roughly. This line of thinking was defeatist, and he wouldn't fall into wallowing in his current situation. Perhaps if he survived this war, he would be able to find someone who would care for him.